Houthis объявляют maritime embargo on Saudi Arabia

Yemen’s civil war began in 2014 when the Houthis drove the government out of Sanaa. The conflict expanded in 2015 after a Saudi-led coalition intervened to try to restore the government. The war has reportedly killed more than 150,000 people and left more than 22 million needing some form of aid, according to the United Nations.

On Monday, Houthi spokesman Yahya Sarea accused Saudi Arabia of maintaining an unjust siege for nearly 12 years and said the group was answering with a maritime embargo against what he called the “criminal Saudi enemy.” He warned that any further escalation would be met with a “comprehensive and decisive” response. The group’s deputy media chief, Nasruddin Amer, also said on X that Houthi forces were closing Bab al-Mandab to Saudi enemy ships.

The move matters because the Red Sea has become more important for Saudi oil shipments while the Strait of Hormuz in the Gulf has been effectively closed amid the wider US-Israeli war with Iran. Saudi Arabia has shifted more than 70% of its crude exports to the Red Sea port of Yanbu, and total petroleum traffic through Bab al-Mandab rose to 7.4 million barrels per day in June. A risk analyst told Reuters it is still unclear whether the Houthis will actually target ships bound for Saudi Arabia, but he said the announcement alone could unsettle shipping and Saudi ports. For Americans, this is another sign that Middle East shipping lanes can still jolt global trade and energy costs.